Secretly Bedridden
by ReynatheDragon
Summary: One day, when Eren doesn't come down to breakfast, Mikasa, Armin, and Levi discover he is sick with something that no one can recognize the cause. They decide to keep it secret from the others, but they still can't find a cure in time to stop Eren's team mates from discovering what is happening. Rated T because language does start to pick up more and blood will be more common.
1. Chapter One - Discovery

Chapter One: Discovery

Mikasa sat at the table with the others. Her fork slid across her plate, casting a squeaking sound over the room. Everyone was there; Levi, Armin, Sasha, Connie, Ymir, Christa, and a few more. She had lost her appetite that morning, however. One person was missing.

And that person was Eren Jaeger, her foster brother. He usually came down to the mess hall on his own. This time, there was no Eren hurrying in. No emerald orbs to stare into. Mikasa pushed the food off her plate.

"Mikasa..." Armin blinked. He had taken a seat across from her. "Here, I'll go check on Eren." Armin said and stood up. Levi nodded, so Armin went upstairs to Eren's room.

The blonde shook the doorknob. The door was locked from the inside. He then inspected it more closely. Armin decided to knock. He tapped lightly.

"Leave me alone," a voice rasped from the other side. It sounded a little ways off, not to mention how weak and unstable Eren sounded. "Hey, are you okay, Eren?" Armin asked, concerned. "Yes, now leave me alone." The blonde walked back downstairs.

"Where is he?" Mikasa looked up, glancing around for the missing Eren. "The door is locked, and he won't let me come in or let me know what's wrong." Those words were enough for Mikasa to shoot straight out of her chair and up to Eren's room.

Levi got up, too. "She won't be getting in there without a key," he sighed and followed behind her. Armin stared down at his feet. "There's something wrong, and I know it."

* * *

Mikasa banged against Eren's door. "Come out, Eren!" She shouted. Levi came up from behind and used the key in the lock, twisted it, and flung it open. Mikasa stumbled in. The brunette had thrown his comforters over him so the two couldn't see him.

"Eren," the Asian ambled hastily towards him and tore away the blankets. Her mouth hung agape in a silent scream. Levi went next to her and looked at Eren. The brunette had been coughing up blood, apparent by the crimson around his mouth and on the bed. His expression was pained..

"I'll go get a doctor," Levi said and rushed away, past the mess hall to the exit.

* * *

"He appears to suffer from sudden migraines. As for the blood, it could be from some source of trauma, for instance, where stone had fallen onto him before he was able to get out. His transforming into a titan, though, could be the cause, not to mention he also has a fever," the doctor had already arrived. Armin, Mikasa, and Levi were gathered around the bed. It had been at least an hour, and even the doctor didn't know what was wrong.

"Give him sleep, don't let him eat excessively, and check and see if the fever persists," he tapped against a little notepad with scribbled notes on two to three pages labeled 'Patients with Odd Symptoms.' Levi nodded. "Thank you," the Corporal said, and showed the other the exit then returned back to Eren's room.

"Someone should watch him, anybody-" before Levi could finish, Mikasa interrupted. "I will," she said and pulled out a stool. The Asian set it next to the bed. There was no stopping Mikasa now. They would eventually have to switch shifts, though, and Levi couldn't see that happening.

All that was left to do was to hobble downstairs and tell the others the bad news. Armin wasn't sure if they should tell them. What if Eren heals up the next day, or his symptoms are normal for titan-shifters? They had no other human that did transform into a titan to explain it, though, so they would have to be on the alert.

"Oi," Connie called out from behind an empty plate. "Is he really sick?" He asked. They all knew about the doctor, but none was sure how bad it was. "It's just a fever and cold," Levi lied. "It should heal tomorrow or the day after that. For now, avoid bothering him. Eren needs rest so he may recover."

Everyone nodded. What the Corporal said was what had to be done. Hearing that left a suspicion, though. How would a fever and a cold slow down Eren? That wasn't like him. They knew something was wrong, and they were going to find out.

* * *

Author's Note

/leavesfabulouscliffhanger

Well then. This is my first fanfiction, so I hope you like it. I would love reviews and NICE criticism. I'll hopefully get the next chapter out tomorrow or a few days later, since everything has been planned specifically.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor the anime Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan.)


	2. Chapter Two - Secrets

Chapter Two: Secrets

Sasha tip-toed towards the mess hall. Her friends were all beginning to discuss the matter at hand when she entered. "It took you long enough," Connie said, sighing when he saw the potato.

"Sorry, had to stop off and get something to eat," she said between mouthfuls and sat down. Every one was there except for the 'suspects'; Armin, Mikasa, and Levi. Of course, if Levi did discover the original 104th trainee squad down here like this, he would simply order them upstairs into their rooms.

"Anyway, let's start," Connie said. The mess hall went silent. "Eren is sick, but Levi won't let us see him," he took a breath, then continued. "Why not? Is it really that bad?"

Sasha's potato was already finished by the time Connie had stopped speaking. "Maybe he's contagious?" She shrugged. The girl was all out ideas. Connie wasn't too bright, either, so he decided not to leave a remark. Christa suddenly perked up, catching Ymir by surprise.

"I think I know why!" She said and bounced in her chair. "It's very unlikely, but I'm pretty sure I know!" The others turned to stare at her. "Well, let's spill it," Ymir said and the whole mess hall leaned in really close to hear.

* * *

The moon was coming up and casting a soft glow in Eren's room. Mikasa was still on the stool, and since the beginning of her shift, she hadn't budged an inch. Armin had entered multiple times to try and take over, but the Asian refused his offers. Eventually, the blonde had given up.

Levi knocked softly on the door, waking her from her daze. "Mikasa, I'll take over. That's an order." She knew she couldn't ignore an order from the Corporal, so she stood up and cracked the door open. "Yes sir," Mikasa said reluctantly. Levi brushed past her and sat on the same stool she had been on. He waited until the girl had put distance between the room and him before he began to speak.

"Ha, I can't believe you're sick," he glanced around the room. "You should clean your room more often." Honestly, it wasn't all that bad. Some stray items lay around here and there, but nothing too severe. But being the clean freak Levi was, this was way below what he set to be 'clean.'

Levi pulled out a book to pass time and started to read but closed it when he heard footsteps. There were several people in a group, then it seemed to disperse as each sound grew fainter and farther apart. He blinked. What were others doing at this time of night?

Quietly, he left a slight crack between the doorframe and the door itself and peeked out. Sasha and Connie were walking to their rooms. They didn't say a thing. If everyone had gone to their rooms, Levi wasn't going to protest.

But why were there so many people walking back to where they _should_ be?

* * *

Eren woke up to find the window open and sunlight streaming in. He could sense another presence in the room. To see who it was, the brunette turned over in the bed slowly. He winced at the pain. Once Eren was looking to his right, he noticed Levi was sitting on a stool and watching him.

"About time you woke up. Mikasa is grabbing breakfast for you," the Corporal said. A book was in his lap, but other than that, Eren had a hard time making out the rest of the room. His vision was fuzzy like static.

As if on cue, Mikasa entered with a tray. A small portion of food filled a quarter of it. There was bread, water, and a bit more, but that was it. There was nothing else. Eren, upon seeing his breakfast, tried to sit up but ended up staying in the same position.

"How do you feel?" Levi asked. Mikasa was having to feed him because of his immobility. "I... I don't know. My vision is still messy, and my head hurts a little," Eren said. When it came to the bread, he consumed it in very tiny bits. He only ate half.

"Well, we will have to wait and see. Hopefully, you'll be healthy enough to walk around in a few days," Levi drummed his fingers against the book. Mikasa left to return the barely eaten breakfast.

The brunette nodded. Somehow, he felt that this wouldn't last for a few days. That vibe began to grow stronger the weaker he became. Then, a sudden wave of drowsiness overcame him. Eren fell asleep, but before he did, he could of sworn there were others in the room that he didn't recognize, and they all reeked of hostility.

* * *

Author's Note

Cliffhangers are so much fun. c: When I saw that I had three people following this story, I was so happy! I didn't know anyone would like it. 3 With that said, here's the second chapter. Enjoy.


	3. Chapter Three - Destination

Chapter Three - Destination

By the time Eren had woken up, he could feel the ground beneath him shake as if he were being carried carelessly. He felt paralyzed when he attempted to sit up. The atmosphere around him was still fuzzy like before, but this time, Eren was able to make out shapes.

Eren looked around with only his eyes. The green unicorn symbol of the Military Police was bouncing up and down from a short distance. The brunette noticed more of the Military Police in what was a wagon with him. What was going on? Straining to find what was outside the wagon, one of the people on board realized he was awake.

"Oi, Tom, the titan shifter is stirring," the man's speech was slurred. He was probably drinking before ordered onto the task. "Make sure the kid doesn't try anything funny, okay?" The other one rasped back. Also half drunk.

The brunette wasn't sure if he was in the place to ask, but his head hurt too much for him to think straight. "Where are we going?" Eren pronounced the words slowly and carefully. "What makes you think I'll answer you, brat?" The Military Police man growled quietly.

"Well-" Eren tried to reply, but winced at a sharp pain on his shoulder. "What did I tell you?" The man had kicked him. The brunette decided it was best to not make any sounds at all. Where ever they were taking him, he did not want to know.

He could only guess it would bring more pain.

* * *

Levi rubbed his forehead. He still couldn't comprehend the situation. The Recon Corps had sent out a report about Eren's condition, but he wasn't expecting the Military Police to come in and raid. Were they really that scared? There were other titan shifters like Annie who had been ill and nothing happened. Of course, that was before everyone knew she was the Female Titan.

Armin was sitting in a chair nearby. The kid was twiddling his thumbs while thinking. The blonde seemed panicked as if he had some type of plan and it failed. Mikasa was next to him, but she wasn't reacting at all. The Asian had a blank expression. The Corporal could only understand so much why they cared for Eren.

And then the topic went all the way back to his illness. The doctor didn't recognize it. His symptoms, too, were odd. Whenever Eren was injured, his titan powers healed him back up. That was categorized with wounds, though. He could still feel pain.

That was where everyone stopped. No one could think of another possible explanation. There were no previous events that could of made it so the trauma was so strong that it overpowered his titan powers. Plus, after the battle with the Female Titan, all his wounds were already healed. By the time Eren did become sick, that had all happened about a week ago.

Levi knew what the Military Police were going to do with him. They would probably lock him up to guarantee he didn't transform. In his current state, that would be impossible. Eren was already too weak to even eat his own breakfast, and it was just about a day or two that had passed.

The Corporal sighed. This snapped Armin out of his thoughts. "Levi, sir," he said. Levi turned to look at him. "What about the others? Shouldn't we explain it to them?" The blonde appeared a bit more normal now. His voice was very high-pitched, though. Someone who didn't know him would think he was a girl. Armin's hair was long for a boy, after all.

"You can go ahead and wake them if they aren't already up," Levi nodded and he stumbled away. Mikasa, too, was back into reality. She was concerned.

"When I get my hands on the Military Police, I swear they will never see sunlight again," she said, looking down at her feet. Levi didn't know what to say. They were all thinking the same, but none as vicious as Mikasa.

* * *

The blonde glanced around. Some of the doors were opened earlier and left empty. Others were shut with the occupant still inside. It would make sense that they would try and take advantage of the situation to sleep in. Levi woke them up pretty early to do the chores, such as cleaning. There was also training, too, but most of the days were spent checking to be sure that there was no trash within the perimeter.

He found himself knocking on Sasha's door first, although it was the one farthest down the hall. "Hey, Sasha, it's time to get up," Armin said. Someone stirred inside then opened the door. "What are you doing waking up people? I thought that was Levi's job," she cocked her head to her right curiously. There was a potato in the opposite hand.

"Levi was a bit busy, so he told me to go and tell the others to start the day," he lied, partially. It was true the Corporal was busy and he let Armin go and wake the others, but he left it at that. There was more to the situation, but that had to wait. Levi said nothing about informing the others.

"Well, I should go-" Armin was interrupted by Sasha. "How's Eren?" That was something the blonde knew he couldn't lie about. He cleared his throat. "Eren's still sick, and Levi said that no one should be bothering him." Sasha raised an eyebrow. "Then why don't we see you three?"

Armin started sweating. "Well, uhm..." he trailed off. The girl was now smirking. She had caught on. "Mhm, it's something pretty bad and you are trying to keep it secret. Why? We're trustworthy friends, too," she bit off a piece of potato, peel and all.

The blonde didn't know what to say. He knew Sasha was smart, but not this smart. Now what was he supposed to do? What could Armin say without lying? When he didn't respond, Sasha continued.

"Why don't you at least let ut see him? That would be nice," she made puppy eyes. "Please?" Armin stepped back. There was no returning now.

* * *

Author's Note:

Thanks for the reviews and even more follows! 3 I'm glad to see that you guys like it. Tomorrow, I might have two chapters published because of a winter storm going over us. I also feel like I set a new record, this time, this chapter had a little bit over 1,000 words! c: Well, hope you enjoy.


	4. Chapter Four - Perception

**EDIT: The story will be on hiatus for a while. Since the holidays are here, I won't have much time to work on it. I would've had one out today, but I was doing something with friends, so I was too busy. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!**

Chapter Four - Perception

Armin balled his hands up into fists. "Ask Levi, he'll tell you," the blonde said and walked away before Sasha could protest. He began to wake the others hastily.

"I guess that's what I'll do," she mumbled, and went to Levi's office. He wasn't in there, so she then proceeded to the second most obvious place; Eren's room. She knocked against the wood slowly. People moved around inside at the sound.

"Who is it?" The Corporal called out. "Sasha," she replied and jangled the knob until the door could swing to and fro. Surprisingly, it hadn't been locked. Once she was inside, Sasha glanced around. Eren wasn't there.

"Where's Eren?" She asked. Levi sighed. "We'll explain it later. When everyone is in the mess hall, Mikasa and I will inform you, along with Armin. Fill the others in about this so they are all present," he ordered.

Sasha nodded and exited the room towards where her friends could be besides the mess hall. Thoughts clouded her mind as she pried into her knowledge of what was happening.

Then again, what was going on?

* * *

All were accounted for in the room where they ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everyone was chatting among themselves. They only knew something had happened and it was important. From the looks of Mikasa and Armin, though, they already had a pretty clear idea.

"Soldiers, listen up," Levi stood up and raised his hand then lowered it as a signal to quiet down. When hearing this, the others reacted quickly. They all leaned in closer to hear what was up.

"Earlier this morning when you were all asleep, Eren had woken up. We decided to go ahead and allow him to eat since there wouldn't be a crowd," he said. "He was too weak to move, so Mikasa had to feed him herself. After he had finished barely half what was on the plate, Mikasa took the food back down to the mess hall. I then noticed that someone was entering the room. At first, I thought it was Mikasa and something was wrong," Levi paused to take a breath. He was explaining a long event.

"It turned out the Military Police had forced entry into the castle. They knocked me back and swept up Eren and then they were gone. I couldn't figure out if they were already out or not, so I went to check," the Corporal continued explaining.

"They were already gone, although it had only been shorter than five minutes. That's all we know," Levi finished and breathed in. The others' faces had drained of color. Eren, kidnapped and taken into the custody of the Military Police?

"Why would they do that?" Connie asked. "We don't know. All they received was a report that Eren was sick. I can guess that was what had scared them," Levi replied. The room fell silent again as Eren's friends tried to comprehend what had occurred.

"Well, what about Mikasa, or even Armin? Did they see anything?" Connie attempted again. The two shook their head. Nothing had happened that was out of the ordinary except for some footsteps, but that was it. They thought it had been some of their friends messing around, so Armin and Mikasa never investigated.

All of them sat, paralyzed, unable to think of an explanation. Another problem was left, unanswered to them all.

* * *

Everyone went about their duties after breakfast. At lunch, there was no conversation. Cleaning went on for a few hours until someone busted in from one of the Recon Corps squads.

"Sir, there was a horde of titans sighted!" The man said. Levi glanced over at the nearby soldiers. "Okay, then. Wait up for us." He left and the Corporal raised an eyebrow. What perfect timing when everyone was already tired to start with.

"Throw on your gear! We have some titans to fight!" Levi shouted. The squad equipped their 3D Maneuver Gear and the rest of it along their waist, not to mention the green capes. Once they were ready for departure, they boarded onto the horses and galloped towards where the other men were.

By the time the horses had stopped, the riders forced them forwards again because the titans were standing right behind the opposing squad. There were plenty of trees dotting the landscape. Their gear could actually be useful again.

Levi's squad spread out and cornered the titans around several trees then struck the napes, killing half of them. Three variants were fleeing in the opposite direction. They had been doing the same since.

"There's three more!" One of the men shouted. The formation was dispatched and switched to a different form and then attacked the variants. Two of them were down, and the final was too fast for most of the horses.

Mikasa leaped off her equine and used her 3D Maneuvering Gear on a nearby tree, propelling herself towards the neck of the titan. Her blade bit into the nape and killed it with ease. She caught onto another tree and lowered herself down, whistled, and got back on her horse.

As the squads were running back to the castle, they reviewed the deaths. "Only two, both the bodies were squashed by the variants," a man explained to Levi. The Corporal nodded. Once they had returned, everyone went back to what they were doing.

"You'd think something significant would have happened," Connie said as he finished the dishes. Sasha looked at him. "I guess it was a lucky break. It could have been worse," she set down her set of clean dishes and grabbed a rag to wipe her hands. "Let's just hope we can figure the rest of this out."

* * *

The sky's obsidian glare settled over the vicinity of the castle. A pink glow tainted the grass then stretched over to what was hidden in the distance. Stables lined the edges with horses that were now quieting. The remainder of humans outside depleted until there was nothing but animals lurking during the night. After the recent discovery that titans required sunlight to remain active, everyone had become more confident in staying in the wilderness at night for a small amount of time.

Tonight was not one of those times, however. The leader of the soldiers, Levi, leaned off the edge of his bed. His curtains were closed as was his door, and a eerie silence was casted over the atmosphere. The Corporal was in deep thought; he had to develop both a plan and understanding of the Military Police.

He traced what he knew back to the start of when Eren was first announced ill. Everyone was in the mess hall eating except for Mikasa. Armin volunteered to go and fetch Eren. The blonde returned without the brunette and said Eren refused to let Armin in his room. Mikasa and Levi then went to investigate, opened the door using a key, and discovered Eren was sick. The Corporal then called a doctor and that was about it.

That summed up the whole, crazy day that seemed like a year ago, yet it was so close on a timeline. There were still no answers to this whole predicament. Levi, as tired as he was, wanted to sleep. He couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

So for the entire night, he thought about the situation. Not an idea popped up in his head.

* * *

The brunette flinched as pain continued to course through his body. Once he was chained up in one of the dungeon like rooms, Eren was not capable of any movement. The shackles weighed down his wrists and forced him to be on the bed for the whole day. He had time to wonder during this before being interrupted by the guards or a headache.

This time, though, Eren could feel some of his strength returning. It hadn't accumulated enough to help him out of the chamber, but it was enough to speak, eat, and move ever so slightly. He could remember the first time he had come here. It was when the brunette realized he had titan powers and what he perceived to be opponents were guaranteeing he didn't shift by locking the boy up.

Now that he was on that topic, he pondered even further. Wouldn't Levi or someone else have come to visit? Or maybe the Military Police wouldn't let them through? Whatever it was, Eren wasn't too sure. He could hear the guards snoring. They must have fallen asleep on duty.

Carefully, Eren propped himself up against the single pillow he was allowed to have. The bars glistened in the torch light. As he peeked through them from a distance, he noticed shadows dancing across the stone brick wall. Eren blinked and attempted to look past a bit further, but it was impossible with the chains weighing him down.

The voices that the brunette could manage to hear, though, sounded familiar. He thought for a moment that it was his friends who had come to visit. When Eren listened harder, though, he noticed it was much different from what he was used to hearing. He must have misinterpreted the sounds because the silhouettes speaking were simply other people he honestly didn't know.

The voices turned out to belong to two men. The volume grew steadily louder the closer it was until it was practically up against the bars. They peered in with disgusted expressions as if Eren were some animal in a cage. He could make out faint whispers as they conversed.

"Look at what the cat dragged in," one of them chuckled. Eren willed for the two to go; he didn't feel like putting up with this shit. The brunette would raise hell if he had the energy to. Once these guys had entered, a headache had started knocking his senses out of wack, which made his thoughts wobbly.

Eren clutched his head, his eyes wide. "Aw, would you have a look at that. He's still sick!" The men laughed for a long time. It was surprising that the guards still weren't awoken by this. Maybe they were allowing it?

"Hey, look at us!" When Eren continued to stare downwards, the men laughed even harder. "I bet he's deaf now!" One of them bellowed, and the noise grew louder. Eren shook his head. The headache was hurting more than ever before.

It was as if it would never stop. Finally, Eren gazed over in their direction and screamed. "Stop talking!"

* * *

Author's Note:

I was going to write two chapters, but then I decided to glue them both together into one, like this. This one was hard to write because I realized that some of the times were a bit messed up, so some of this acted as fillers, though it still has an effect on the story sooner or later.

It makes me even happier to see more follows! Thanks, everyone! With the new chapter, I hope you enjoy.


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